Bread Label May Say It’s Nutritious, but Better Read the Fine Print

Much has been written about bread: Man (politically updated to read people) cannot live by bread alone, and conversely, bread is the staff of life.

Throughout history, every culture has had some form of bread. Although there are many, many varieties, they basically fall into two categories, leavened or unleavened. Unleavened breads (just ground grains and water) have been around since ancient times. They are more familiar to us as chapatis, matzos, tortillas and other flat breads.

The Egyptians were the first to produce leavened breads when, as the story goes, wheat dough was accidentally contaminated by wild yeast spores in the air. They found the new bread lighter and tastier, and were able to reproduce the serendipitous event by taking pieces of dough from one batch to start another.

But it took French chemist Louis Pasteur to really figure out yeast, and after thousands of years of bread-making, we finally understand the range of subtleties needed to produce perfect bread.

If bread is made from whole grains, it can be an important source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Unless the recipe includes a lot of butter and eggs, most breads are low in fat and have no cholesterol. The real problem is that in the big, wide, wonderful world of breads, some are more wonderful than others.

Fortunately, since the improvements in food labeling, it is a little easier to figure out which is which.

* Diet, lite or reduced calorie bread. This usually means thinner slices. It does not necessarily mean that the calories in an equal weight of bread have been reduced, only that the size of each serving is smaller.

* High fiber. If this appears on the label, the exact amount of fiber must be listed.

* Low in fat. Because nearly all breads made with yeast are low in fat (usually less than 1 gram per slice), this is a fairly meaningless term.

* No cholesterol. Cholesterol is rarely an important consideration in selecting bread unless you are buying specialty breads made with butter, eggs or cheese.

* Matzo. Cracker-like in appearance, matzo is actually a bread. It is possible to find whole-wheat matzo. It is also possible to find egg matzo (which adds fat and cholesterol).

* Oat bread. This is just white bread with a little oat flour added.

* Pita bread. A round pocket bread that, despite its appearance, is leavened with yeast. Whole-wheat varieties are available.

* Pumpernickel. Really a form of rye bread, its dark color comes from caramel or molasses, not from any increased nutritional value.

* Rye bread. This bread is usually cut with some wheat or enriched white flour because bread made with pure rye flour is very, very heavy. Most deli-style rye breads have 20% to 40% rye flour, but a bread can have as little as 3% and still be called rye. Most rye flour has had the bran and germ removed. Look for those made with mixed rye and whole-wheat flours.

* Sourdough bread. Leavened with a starter that adds no nutritional value, the nutrient content depends on the type of flour used. Traditional San Francisco sourdough is made with white flour--not much fiber but very yummy.

* Tortillas. Unleavened breads that originated in Mexico, they are usually made from corn or white flour and may contain substantial amounts of fat.

* Unbleached or unbromated. Just an indication that the color of the bread has not been artificially lightened, this term does not mean that you are getting whole wheat.

* Wheat bread. This term really means white bread because the first ingredient is “wheat flour” or “enriched wheat flour.” This is just another name for refined white flour. Nowhere does it say whole wheat. This includes breads called “cracked wheat,” “sprouted wheat” and “multi-grain.”

* Whole wheat bread. This is the ingredient to look for first in bread. In order to be called whole-wheat bread, it must be made from 100% whole wheat flour, which includes the bran and germ. This is where the fiber and other nutrients really come from. The most nutritious breads should have 2 to 4 grams of fiber per slice.

When shopping for bread, get the freshest loaf possible and check the expiration dates. It should be good for a few days after the date. Even though commercial breads usually contain some form of preservative, they can still get moldy, especially in warm or humid weather. To keep bread from getting stale or moldy, keep it at room temperature. Refrigerating it will retard mold, but the bread will get stale faster. If you buy more than you can use in a few days, put it in the freezer.

Bear in mind that all the nutritional pluses of bread can be completely undermined by covering it with butter, mayonnaise or other high-fat, high-calorie toppings. A sandwich made with whole-wheat bread, turkey, lettuce, tomato and mustard (hold the mayo) is a sensible lunch entree for any dieter and will usually weigh in at less than 300 calories.

Don’t be deluded into thinking that toast is necessarily any lower in calories than the same piece of bread untoasted. Toasting just removes the water, it does not change the calorie count.

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To submit questions, send e-mail to daogar@uclink4.berkeley.edu, fax (510) 642-2857, or write Dale Ogar, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360. We regret that we cannot answer questions personally.